Kosovo

Western powers this week urged foes Serbia and Kosovo to stop creating obstacles and reboot their stalled dialogue “with urgency”. In a statement, the five so-called ‘Quint’ countries - US, Britain, France, Germany and Italy - warned that otherwise "Kosovo’s and Serbia’s path towards the European Union (EU)" would be prevented.

Serbia ordered its security forces on full alert on Tuesday after police in neighbouring Kosovo mounted an anti-smuggling operation in a northern region of the country populated mainly by Serbs. According to Serbia's state TV Kosovo's special police "burst into" northern Kosovo and made several arrests, but it was only a cover up for actions aimed at intimidating Serbs in Kosovo.

Kosovo is ready for a compromise deal with Serbia to resolve long-standing issues between the countries, President Hashim Thaci said in a letter to US President Donald Trump. “I will be ready and willing to make compromises necessary to reach a comprehensive and balanced settlement that will encompass all outstanding issues,” Thaci said in a letter dated 8 January, but published only now.

Kosovo's parliament on Friday approved three draft laws on the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) expanding its competences and creating a legal base for its transformation into a regular army with 5,000 troop, plus 3,000 reservists. The three draft laws concern one directly on the Kosovo Security Force, KSF, another on a Ministry of Defence and a third on service in the KSF.

NATO foreign ministers gave Bosnia-Herzegovina the green light to take a major step forward on its path toward joining the world's biggest military alliance, albeit the Bosnian Serb objections to membership. Meeting in Brussels on December 5, the ministers invited Bosnia to submit its first annual national program of political, economic, and defense reforms aimed at bringing aspiring countries into line with the Atlantic alliance's standards.

Kosovo has imposed a 100 percent tax on products from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in a move the government said is aimed at defending the country’s “vital interest" following Belgrade's "aggressive campaign” against the young republic on the international stage. The retaliation also requires authorities to remove or prevent from entering any goods that did not address Kosovo by its constitutional name, Republic of Kosovo, which Serbia and Bosnia do not recognise.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, to discuss how to push forward a deal with Kosovo after a plan to rework their borders faced international resistance. The negotiations will be held amid the growing tensions around Kosovo and their agenda will include a broad range of issues. Yet, The situation with Kosovo is expected "to be the priority” in talks with Putin.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday he would seek a guarantee that his country would join the European Union in 2025 as part of any deal with neighbouring Kosovo, which would pave the way for both states to enter the bloc and settle their long-standing disputes.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday rejected the imposition of any changes to borders in the Balkans, after leaders of both Serbia and Kosovo announced in recent days that current boundaries are under discussion. Merkel’s comments were clearly linked to the possible partition of Kosovo, a prospect that many fear would trigger violence in the Balkans amid knock-on demands from other nations for border changes.